Man held over Bray Boxing Club murder linked to drug dealing

A man arrested over the gun murder of Bobby Messett in a Co Wicklow gym in June, and the wounding of two other men, including boxing coach Pete Taylor, is linked to drug dealing in Dublin's north inner city.

The 31-year-old was arrested in Dublin late on Thursday and taken to Bray Garda station, where he can be held for up to seven days without charge under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act. It is the first arrest in connection with the incident.

The man has long been a person of interest to gardaí investigating the killing and sources said he was being questioned about any direct knowledge he might have about the attack.

Gardaí believe they know who carried out the murder and that Mr Taylor (57), father of former Olympic boxing champion Katie Taylor, was the gunman’s target. They believe Mr Taylor had angered underworld figures but there is no suggestion that he, or any of those shot, have been involved in any criminal wrongdoing.

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Mr Messett and another man, Ian Britton, were training at Bray Boxing Club, a business Mr Taylor was centrally involved in, when the gunman burst in at about 7am on June 5th.

Mr Messett (53) died after suffering a gunshot wound to the head. He was a regular at the gym and was heavily involved in sports such as soccer and cycling.Mr Britton (35), from Greystones, Co Wicklow, was wounded in the leg but survived.

Gardaí believe the two men were shot because they happened to be on the premises when the gunman came looking for Mr Taylor, who was shot in the upper body but has since made a full recovery. He left the State for a period after the shooting, apparently after being told his life was in danger.

After the shooting the gunman drove to Pigeon House Road in south Dublin, parked up, took a bicycle from the back of the vehicle and then cycled away. He failed in his attempt to to burn out the Volkswagen Caddy he used to drive to abd from the scene the attack.

Gardaí have been gathering CCTV footage in an attempt to track the movements of the bicycle on which he left the area.